BUFFALO, N.Y. – A new study on mentholated cigarette use
in the U.S. finds an increase in menthol cigarette smoking among
young adults and concludes that efforts to reduce smoking likely
are being thwarted by the sale and marketing of mentholated
cigarettes, including emerging varieties of established youth
brands.

“Our findings indicate that youth are heavy consumers of
mentholated cigarettes, and that overall menthol cigarette smoking
has either remained constant or increased in all three age groups
we studied, while non-menthol smoking has decreased,” says
lead researcher Gary Giovino, PhD, professor and chair of the
University at Buffalo Department of Community Health and Health
Behaviors.

Giovino, one of the world’s leading tobacco surveillance
researchers, estimated menthol and non-menthol cigarette use during
2004-10 using annual data on nearly 390,000 persons 12 years old
and older who took part in the National Surveys on Drug Use and
Health. The data included more than 84,000 smokers.

Among cigarette smokers, menthol cigarette use was more common
among 12-17 year olds (56.7 percent) and 18-25 year olds (45
percent) than among older persons (range 30.5 percent to 34.7
percent)

Menthol use was associated with being younger, female, and of
non-white race or ethnicity.

Among all adolescents, the percent who smoked non-menthol
cigarettes decreased from 2004-10, while menthol smoking rates
remained constant.

Among all young adults, the percent who smoked non-menthol
cigarettes also declined, while menthol smoking rates
increased.

The use of Camel menthol and Marlboro menthol increased among
adolescent and young adult smokers, particularly non-Hispanic
whites, during the study period.

“The study results should inform the FDA regarding the
potential public health impact of a menthol ban,” Giovino
says.

“The FDA is considering banning menthol cigarettes, or
other regulatory options,” he says. “This research
provides an important view of the trends and patterns of menthol
use in the nation as a whole. The FDA will consider these findings
and findings from multiple other studies as it goes forward.

Giovino is particularly alarmed that the findings show youth are
heavy consumers of mentholated cigarettes and the use of menthols
is specifically associated with being younger, female and of
non-white ethnicity.

“This finding indicates that mentholated cigarettes are a
‘starter product’ for kids in part because menthol
makes it easier to inhale for beginners,” says Giovino.
“Simply stated, menthol sweetens the poison, making it easier
to smoke. Young people often think menthol cigarettes are safer, in
part because they feel less harsh.

“When I was growing up, one of my older friends said he
didn't think that menthol cigarette smoking was that dangerous
because he was told that they were good for you if you got a
cold,” says Giovino. “It turns out that Kool was
advertising that way for a long time but was stopped from doing so
by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) around 1955.

“This ‘urban legend’ has persisted.”

Funding for the research was provided by Legacy (http://www.legacyforhealth.org/),
a leading public health non-profit whose primary mission is to
reduce tobacco use. Co-author Andrea Villanti, PhD, MPH, associate
director for Regulatory Science and Policy at Legacy’s
Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies, noted,
“Our findings support that the presence of menthol cigarettes
in the marketplace has slowed progress in reducing smoking
prevalence in the U.S. This is of great concern given the
tremendous health effects of smoking cigarettes.”

In addition to Giovino and Villanti the following researchers
collaborated on the study: David Abrams and Raymond Niaura, from
the Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies,
Legacy, and the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Donna Vallone from the
Department of Research and Evaluation, Legacy, and the Department
of Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of
Public Health; and Paul Mowery and Varadan Sevilimedu from
Biostatistics Inc.

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